Game apparatus



March 12, 1957 P. L. MATER AME APPARATUS Filed May 27. 1954 INVENTOR. PETER L. NAT

United States Patent M GAME APPARATUS Peter L. Mater, Leominster, Mass.

Application May 27, 1954, Serial No. 432,696

1 Claim. (Cl. 273-130) This invention relates to a game apparatus which is adapted for portability and may be carried in pocket or purse and is principally adapted to the game of tick-tack toe.

The principal object of the invention resides in the provision of a relatively small portable device of the class described which is self-sufficient within itself for playing the game and includes an apertured game-board having iherebeneath a plurality of manually actuatable members variously marked as for instance with crosses and zeros and each having a blank area also for selective alignment with holes in the game-board, so that the blanks, crosses or Zeros may be selectively visible through said holes, said actuatable members lying beneath the board in which the holes are located, whereby the game may be played without the use of markers, men or pencils of any kind, and said actuatable members may all be arranged so as to show blanks through the holes and each player may then manipulate the same to project either indicia he wishes so as to play the gamein the usual manner otherwise.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a game device as above stated including certain constructional features providing a lower compartment and. a top board for plastic injection molding or similar manufacture, and including parts which are novel, and easily and inexpensively manufactured.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive means by which, when the game is ended, the majority of the manually actuable game pieces or members may be readily returned to their initial position by simply moving the finger of the operator circumferentially around the game board.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the game device, parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a modified indicating means and its relation to the container;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the same removed from the container; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the construction of the under part of the game device of Fig. l with the top board removed.

In carrying out the present invention, there is provided a lower board or box-like compartment which is provided with an interrupted peripheral upstanding rim or flange generally indicated at 12. This device is square or rectangular and along two parallel sides the upstanding rim or flange is provided with single-gap or interrupted portions 14, and along the adjacent sides, the upstanding rim or flange is provided with three interruptions or gaps 16.

Each gap is provided with a centrally located upstand- 2,784,972 Patented Mar. 12, 1957 ing pivot-pin 18 for pivotally mounting an indicating member, each of which is generally indicated at 20 and each of which is provided with an outwardly-extending finger portion 22 by which it is manually manipulated to swing the same on the pivot 18. The members 20 extend within the confines of the rim or flange 12 and are shaped somewhat like paddles, being flat and parallel with the floor 24 for part 10. These paddle-like members are each provided with an are at the end opposite from the fingerhold 22 and this are is provided with three notches 26 for selective light latching engagement with a fixed upstanding pin 28 so as to hold the member 20 selectively in any one of three different positions. The top surface of each of the members is provided with the indicia shown, or any other selective markings, and including a blank area for a purpose to be later described.

Centrally located on the floor 24, there is an upstanding pin 30 like those at 18 for swingingly mounting a pivoted member 32 similar to those at 20 and provided with similar notches and an upstanding latching pin 34 similar to those at 28. The handle portion 36, however, is provided with an upstanding pin 38 and this projects through an arcuate slot 40 in a top member 42 for manipulation of said central member as of course this central member cannot be manipulated from the side edges as is the case with the members 20.

It is to be noted that the arrangement of parts is to have the fingerholds 22 of six of the members 20 extending at two opposite sides thereof and the other two extending from the intermediate sides, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The top cover member 42 is provided with the plurality of holes shown in Fig. 1, and the members 20 as well as the central similar member 36 may be manipulated to present either a blank spot as at 44 or zero as at 46, and an X as at 48 to show through the respective hole and in this way the game of tick-tack-toe may be conveniently played in the usual manner otherwise. Also, as the fingerholds are swung, the various pins 28 and 34 will click into the respective notches to lightly hold the pieces in the selected positions.

The respective parts 10 and 12 may be provided with appropriate dowel pins and when the parts are all assembled, the top board 42 is cemented to the top edges of the rim or flange 12.

Various modifications may be made in the hand-manipulated members 20, and one such modification is shown wherein a rotatable member 50 is provided with extending end portions 52 for journalling in appropriate walls 54 between the top 56 and the bottom 58 of the device. The member 50 is provided with three flat surfaces 60, any one of which may be selectively aligned with the hole 62 and any desired means may be used to lightly latch the member 50 in the desired position. One of the end members 52 may be extended through the wall of the member 10 for manual turning thereof.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

A game apparatus comprising a lower container, a peripheral flange, said flange being interrupted to form a series of gaps therein, a pivoted hand-manipulated piece located partially in each gap, a lever-like fingerhold on each piece extending through the gap to the exterior and an enlarged portion within the interior of the lower container, means holding said enlarged portions within the interior of the lower container, said enlarged portions being flat and being variously marked thereon, means for selectively yieldingly latching each piece in desired position, and a top board secured to and over the lower container and the flange, said top board being apertured, there ayrsem'a being an aperture for each piece and the indicia on each piece being selectively visible through the respective apertures to the exclusion of any other indicia on a single piece, the marks on the enlarged portions being absent from the same at one end part of each so that in an extreme position of pivotal action of the fingerholds the indicia is blank as seen through the apertures and the pieces may all be returned to the said blank showing upon being pivoted in the same direction circumferentially of the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ellithorpe Jan 15, 1918 Petrov July 14, 1925 Slayton May 3, 1927 Maxon May 15, 1928 Wolyn -1 Dec. 30, 1930 Smith Dec. 25, 1945 

